Duck teaches
kids to never give up
By Ross Chanowski/
Correspondent
Thursday, July 27, 2006
In
the heat of July, Michele Bredice Craemer put school back in
session for a Scamper Camp full of children at the West
Roxbury/Roslindale YMCA.
As part of the ReadBoston Storymobile
program, Craemer, read her book, "Pellie Runs a
Marathon," a story about a duck that runs a marathon, to a
group of about 30 preschoolers just learning how to read.
The program, Read Boston Storymobile,
brings books and authors to camps and community centers all
summer long. First the 30 campers moved around their seats,
tapping and whispering to each other hoping to get a
rambunctious response. Before Craemer could start, a wave of
needy statements such as "I’m thirsty" and "I
have to go to the bathroom" filled the field. It seemed as
if the prospect of reading was not what the kids came to camp
for.
In keeping with the goals of the
program, though, Craemer calmed the crowd with an exceptional
story. The Storymobile’s weekly theme for reading was animals,
which fit perfectly into Craemer’s story of Pellie the duck
training and running in a marathon. After captivating her
audience with the reading, Craemer wanted to extend the fun into
song and dance that related to the book. The campers happily
danced their own marathon, running in place and stepping side to
side.
The children were now enthralled
readers, even in the summer months. Hoping to excite the same
response among kids throughout the city, Mayor Tom Menino
started the ReadBoston Storymobile program in 1995. The mayor
hoped to make reading fun for children and to ensure literacy by
third grade. Craemer, a mother herself, thought the program was
great for children around the city.
"It is awesome, it definitely gets
[children] into reading and the joy of different stories through
books," she said.
Craemer was able to bring joy to these
West Roxbury kids through her story, inspired by her own
training for a marathon. Initially aimed to be a guidebook for
adults, the story became a children’s book with some
inspiration from Craemer’s own two kids.
Movement is not a required piece for the
authors who read their stories for the program, but Cramer felt
it necessary to add another component to the day. "I think
it’s great to show that reading is fun, and education is fun.
To put different parts into it like the movement, so that when
[the kids] think about reading they don’t just think about a
stationary environment."
Erin Smith, a representative of the
ReadBoston program, brought Craemer, storyteller Tony Toledo and
books for each camper as part of its mission for literacy. Smith
and others visit 80 sites in Boston each week, giving out 25,000
books during the summer. Smith felt it was most important to
read in the summer so that skills built in the school year are
easier to realize.
"The real important thing about
this program is getting the kids outside and enjoying literacy
and reading activities," Smith said. "[We] keep them
excited and keep them prepared for reading in the fall."
There is no doubt the lucky campers at
the YMCA scamper camp in West Roxbury enjoyed the visit by the
Storymobile. Their loud and elongated "Thank you!"
could have been heard across the Parkway. Some campers ran in a
simulated marathon; others joined in the storytelling. No matter
what their job was, each child walked out of the event with a
smile on their face. One very upset girl walked off in tears
when she was forced to leave camp early, a sign of the success
of the event.
"The [campers] were great listening
to directions; they were very attentive," Craemer said.
The Storymobile hopes to have the same
success all summer long across the city.
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|
Author Michele Bredice Craemer reads her book ’Pellie
Runs a Marathon’ to preschoolers at the West
Roxbury/Roslindale YMCA’s Scamper Camp. (Keith E.
Jacobson photo) |
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